# T. R. Mahalingam (actor)

Thenkarai Ramakrishna Mahalingam (16 June 1924 – 21 April 1978) born in Sholavandan Thenkarai was an Indian actor and playback singer of the 1940s and 1950s. He was known for his melodious songs mostly based on romantic or devotional themes.

## Early days

Mahalingam's career as an actor and singer began since his childhood. He regularly appeared in stage plays popularly called special dramas. Mahalingam trained as a singer during the time when microphones and amplifiers were rarely present in performance halls. His music training, like those of singers S. G. Kittappa, Krishnan, M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and to a large extent TMS, stressed voice projection and singing loud so as to be audible in large auditoriums. So it was that in 1933, when the prominent singer Kittappa died at the early age of 28, Mahalingam got his first break in films.

## Acting

In 1937, at the age of 14, Mahalingam got the chance to appear in the film Nandakumar, the third film produced by AVM. The film was based on the story of Lord Krishna wherein Mahalingam was chosen to play the lead role. The film failed at the box office in all the three languages (Tamil, Hindi and Marathi) in which it was made. Nevertheless, it received great accolades for its songs.
Mahalingam got his big break in the film Sri Valli made at the height of the Second World War, in which he played the part of Lord Murugan. The film did well at the box-office and established Mahalingam's reputation as both an actor and a singer.

### Music composers he sang for

Many music directors gave him memorable songs, including S. V. Venkatraman, K. V. Mahadevan, Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy, G. Ramanathan, Sharma Brothers, T. A. Kalyanam, C. N. Pandurangan, Lalitha Venkatraman, T. Rajagopala Sarma, C. R. Subbaraman, T. G. Lingappa, S. Rajeswara Rao, R. Sudarsanam, and Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan.

### Playback singers he sang with

While Mahalingam had many solo hit songs, he also sang with other singers.
He sang the most number of duets with S. Varalakshmi.
He also sang duets with other female singers: P. A. Periyanayaki, T. R. Rajakumari, P. Bhanumathi, T. V. Rathnam, A. P. Komala, Soolamangalam Jayalakshmi, Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi, T. S. Bagavathi, S. Janaki, P. Leela and P. Susheela.
He was also paired to sing with male singers such as Sirkazhi Govindarajan and S. C. Krishnan.

## Filmography

| Year | Film | Language | Banner |
| 1938 | Nandhakumar | Tamil | AVM Productions |
| 1939 | Prahaladha | Tamil | Salem Sankar Films |
| 1940 | Bhooloka Rambai | Tamil | Salem Shanmugha Films & Vijaya Maruthi Pictures |
| 1940 | Parasuramar | Tamil | |
| 1941 | Sathi Murali | Tamil | Central Studios |
| 1942 | Sathi Sukanya | Tamil | Modern Theatres |
| 1942 | Mayajothi | Tamil | |
| 1942 | Manonmani | Tamil | |
| 1943 | Dhaasippen or Jothi Malar | Tamil | Bhuvaneshwari Pictures |
| 1944 | Baktha Hanuman | Tamil | Raman Pictures |
| 1945 | Sri Valli | Tamil | Pragathi Studios |
| 1947 | Naam Iruvar | Tamil | AVM Productions |
| 1948 | Gnana Soundari | Tamil | Newton Studio |
| 1948 | Vedhala Ulagam | Tamil | AVM Productions |
| 1948 | Adhithan Kanavu | Tamil | Modern Theatres |
| 1949 | Pavalakodi | Tamil | Pakshiraja Studios |
| 1949 | Mayavathi | Tamil | Ganapathy Pictures |
| 1949 | Inbavalli | Tamil | Shyamala Pictures |
| 1950 | Laila Majnu | Tamil | Balaji Pictures |
| 1950 | Ithaya Geetham | Tamil | Citadel Film Corporation |
| 1950 | Macha Rekai | Tamil | Sukumar Productions |
| 1950 | Parijatham | Tamil | Lavanya Pictures |
| 1951 | Mohana Sundaram | Tamil | Sukumar Productions |
| 1952 | Velaikaran | Tamil | Sri Valli Productions |
| 1952 | Chinna Durai | Tamil | Sukumar Productions |
| 1954 | Vilayattu Bommai | Tamil | Sukumar Productions |
| 1958 | Maalaiyitta Mangai | Tamil | Kannadasan Films |
| 1959 | Manimekalai | Tamil | Sekhar Art Film Enterprises |
| 1959 | Abalai Anjugam | Tamil | Aruna Films |
| 1959 | Amudhavalli | Tamil | Jupiter Pictures |
| 1960 | Thanthaikku Pin Thamaiyan | Tamil | Surya Films |
| 1960 | Aada Vandha Deivam | Tamil | Majestic Studios |
| 1960 | Rathinapuri Ilavarasi | Tamil | Sri Vinayaka Pictures |
| 1960 | Kavalai Illaadha Manithan | Tamil | Kannadasan Productions |
| 1961 | Ennai Paar | Tamil | Pazhaniappa Productions |
| 1961 | Sri Valli | Tamil | Narasu Studio |
| 1963 | Pannaiyar Magan (Unreleased) | Tamil | RA Pictures |
| 1965 | Thiruvilaiyadal | Tamil | Sri Vijayalakshmi Pictures |
| 1971 | Ilangeswaran | Tamil | Shashti Pictures |
| 1971 | Kannan Karunai | Tamil | NAD |
| 1972 | Agathiyar | Tamil | Sri Vijayalakshmi Pictures |
| 1972 | Thiruneelakandar | Tamil | Sudarkodi Films |
| 1973 | Rajaraja Cholan | Tamil | Anand Movies |
| 1973 | Thirumalai Deivam | Tamil | Shanthi Combines |
| 1977 | Sri Krishna Leela | Tamil | Sree Umaiyambikai Pictures |